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- Written by Peter Stanford
- Category: Weekly Column
It is something the English haven’t witnessed on these shores for more than 500 years. The sight of long queues outside churches, convents and cathedrals to see a wooden box containing the bones of a saint – in this case St Thérèse of Lisieux, a 19th-century French nun.
As pilgrims have waited in line at some of the venues on Thérèse’s “tour”, some have been sold roses and holy candles to place near the relics. Others have been entertained by giant screens showing sugary accounts of the saint, who died young in 1897 of intestinal tuberculosis, and of her “little way” of finding spirituality through small, everyday things. The whole spectacle has given a glimpse of what Catholic England might have been like had the Reformation never happened.
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- Written by Edoardo Albert
- Category: Weekly Column
Has there ever been a device more calculated to break the best of intentions and lead you down byways and sidetracks than the internet? I honestly intended to spend a couple of hours last night improving the links section of the website (which currently stands at a rather paltry three and if you have any suggestions for sites to add please contact me ). However, what actually happened was that I took a tour down childhood memories and, so that the time might not have been completely wasted, I provide as a public service announcement and for the purposes of fortysomething nostalgic wallowing the following:
Belle and Sebastien (the opening titles and end music, plus a clip)
White Horses (that wonderfully evocative tune and a long clip)
The Flashing Blade (guns, swords, sieges: surely one of the most unlikely children's programmes ever)
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- Written by Archbishop Vincent Nichols
- Category: Weekly Column
This is the text of the pastoral letter from Archbishop Vincent Nichols that we heard on the Fifth Sunday of Lent.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
The woman in today’s Gospel is hauled before the Lord by a judgemental society. She is isolated in her guilt. And therein lies the falsehood which Jesus uncovers. No one is guilty in isolation. Rather we are so bound to each other that a guilt which we might seem to be proper to one person alone almost always involves others, too.
Jesus’ silent and dramatic gesture of writing in the sand makes everyone present look into their own hearts and recognise their own failures and sins.
This same truth is at the heart of our Lenten journey. This is not a time for working out the blame to lay on others but a time for identifying our own faults, seeking forgiveness for them and trying to build a more virtuous life.
The pursuit of virtue is a key theme in a document which we Bishops of England and Wales have recently published under the title ‘Choosing the Common Good’. While the document is issued in the context of the forthcoming General Election, it is substantially about matters that can never be decided by an election. It is about the health of our society.
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- Written by Fr Robert Barron
- Category: Weekly Column
Fr Barron provides a succint commentary on the standard heresies of our times. You'll have heard these spouted in slightly differing forms by many; here's a concise and clear response.
The second part is after the jump.
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- Written by Fr John McCartney
- Category: Weekly Column
Last week we looked at the Second Precept of the Church as enumerated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: You shall confess your sins at least once a year. Consequently, to consider oneself a “practicing Catholic,” one should go to Confession at least once a year. In fact, this is considered the bare minimum, and most people should go more often. In my personal opinion, I think that every Catholic should go at least twice a year; once in Advent and again in Lent. However, those who are serious about advancing in the spiritual life will make use of Confession even more frequently, because of the tremendous graces this sacrament brings.
For many years now, the Sacrament of Confession has undergone a crisis in our Church. It is a crisis of fear, prompted by a lack of understanding. Sometimes, the confusion has been on the part of the clergy more than the laity. I have often heard people say they felt many priests in recent years discouraged the use of the Sacrament. This is shocking, but in my experience, it is also true. Today, it is common to meet Catholics who come to Mass every Sunday and Holy Day, yet have not been to Confession in twenty years.
However, the situation is improving. I am happy to be able to say that the Sacrament of Penance is undergoing a resurrection in the Church. People are returning to Confession, and are relearning how to properly make use of this most valuable sacrament. This is happening because of the revolution that Pope John Paul led for a quarter of a century in order to restore the Catholic Faith after a painful period of neglect. Our late, great, Holy Father constantly encouraged the practice of Confession, and led by example, hearing Confessions of the faithful even as Pope.